Helleborus plant named ‘HL 1010’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of  Helleborus  plant named ‘HL 1010’, characterized by its upright to somewhat outwardly spreading and mounded plant habit; moderately vigorous to vigorous growth habit; dark green-colored leaves; freely flowering habit; purplish red-colored flowers; and good garden performance.

Botanical designation: Helleborus x lemperii (Helleborus niger X Helleborus x hybridus).

Cultivar denomination: ‘HL 1010’.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY INVENTOR/APPLICANT

An European Community Plant Breeder's Rights application for the instant plant was filed by the Inventor/Applicant, Mr. Josef Heuger of Glandorf, Germany, on Nov. 30, 2021, application number 2021/3088. Foreign priority is not claimed to this application.

The Inventor/Applicant asserts that no publications nor advertisements relating to sales, offers for sale or public distribution occurred more than one year prior to the effective filing date of this application. Any information about the claimed plant would have been obtained from a direct or indirect disclosure from the Inventor or Applicant. Inventor/Applicant claims a prior art exception under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(1) for disclosure and/or sales prior to the filing date but less than one year prior to the effective filing date.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Helleborus plant, botanically known as Helleborus x lemperii (Helleborus niger X Helleborus x hybridus) and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘HL 1010’.

The new Helleborus plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Glandorf, Germany. The objective of the breeding program was to create new uniform Helleborus plants with unique and attractive plant habit, leaf and flower coloration and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress.

The new Helleborus plant originated from a cross-pollination conducted by the Inventor in Glandorf, Germany in December, 2015 of a proprietary selection of Helleborus x lemperii identified as code number 2014-1423, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent and a proprietary selection of Helleborus x lemperii identified as code number 2014-0384, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Helleborus plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination grown in a controlled greenhouse environment in Glandorf, Germany in November, 2016.

Asexual reproduction of the new Helleborus plant by in vitro axillary meristem culture in a controlled environment in Glandorf, Germany since March, 2017 has shown that the unique features of this new Helleborus plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of the new Helleborus have not been observed under all possible combinations of environmental conditions and cultural practices. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environmental conditions such as temperature and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘HL 1010’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘HL 1010’ as a new and distinct Helleborus plant:

-   -   1. Upright to somewhat outwardly spreading and mounded plant         habit.     -   2. Moderately vigorous to vigorous growth habit.     -   3. Dark green-colored leaves.     -   4. Freely flowering habit.     -   5. Purplish red-colored flowers.     -   6. Good garden performance.

Plants of the new Helleborus differ from plants of the female parent selection in the following characteristics:

-   -   1. Leaves of plants of the new Helleborus are darker green in         color than leaves of plants of the female parent selection.     -   2. Flowers of plants of the new Helleborus are purplish red in         color whereas flowers of plants of the female parent selection         are white in color.

Plants of the new Helleborus differ from plants of the male parent selection in the following characteristics:

-   -   1. Leaves of plants of the new Helleborus are darker green in         color than leaves of plants of the male parent selection.     -   2. Flowers of plants of the new Helleborus are purplish red in         color whereas flowers of plants of the male parent selection are         red in color.

Plants of the new Helleborus can also be compared to plants of Helleborus x lemperii ‘HGC Liara’, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons, plants of the new Helleborus differ primarily from plants of ‘HGC Liara’ in flower color as flowers of plants of the new Helleborus are purplish red in color whereas flowers of plants of ‘HGC Liara’ are light and dark pink in color.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying colored photographs illustrate the overall appearance of the new Helleborus plant showing the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Colors in the photographs may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description which accurately describe the colors of the new Helleborus plant.

The photograph on the first sheet (FIG. 1 ) is a side perspective view of a typical flowering plant of ‘HL 1010’ grown in a container.

The photograph on the second sheet (FIG.2) is a close-up view of a typical flowering plant of ‘HL 1010’.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The aforementioned photographs and following observations, measurements and values describe plants grown during late autumn and early winter in 17-cm containers in a glass-covered greenhouse in Glandorf, Germany and under cultural practices typical of commercial Helleborus production. During the production of the plants, day temperatures ranged from 12° C. to 32° C. and night temperatures ranged from 5° C. to 12° C. Plants were four months old when the photographs and the description were taken. In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 2015 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.

-   Botanical classification: Helleborus x lemperii (Helleborus niger X     Helleborus x hybridus) ‘HL 1010’. -   Parentage:     -   -   Female, or seed, parent.—Proprietary selection of Helleborus             x lemperii identified as code number 2014-1423, not             patented.         -   Male, or pollen, parent.—Proprietary selection of Helleborus             x lemperii identified as code number 2014-0384, not             patented. -   Propagation:     -   -   Type.—In vitro axillary meristem culture.         -   Time to initiate roots, winter.—About 55 days at             temperatures about 12° C.         -   Time to produce a rooted young plant, winter.—About 170 days             at temperatures ranging from about 4° C. to 15° C.         -   Root description.—Thick to thin, fleshy; typically white to             brownish in color, actual color of the roots is dependent on             substrate composition, water quality, fertilizer type and             formulation, substrate temperature and physiological age of             roots.         -   Rooting habit.—Low branching; sparse. -   Plant description:     -   -   Plant and growth habit.—Herbaceous perennial; upright to             somewhat outwardly spreading and mounding plant habit with             flowers held within and above the foliar plane; plant shape,             broad inverted triangular; moderately vigorous to vigorous             growth habit and moderate growth rate.         -   Plant height, soil level to top of foliar plane.—About 27.4             cm.         -   Plant height, soil level to top of flowers.—About 38.5 cm.         -   Plant diameter (area of spread).—About 43.7 cm. -   Leaf description:     -   -   Arrangement.—Leaves arranged in a basal rosette; leaves             palmately compound with typically seven leaflets per leaf.         -   Leaf length.—About 20.8 cm.         -   Leaf width.—About 23.3 cm.         -   Leaflet length.—About 11 cm.         -   Leaflet width.—About 5.8 cm.         -   Leaf shape.—Palmate; roughly reniform in outline.         -   Leaflet shape.—Obovate.         -   Leaflet apex.—Acute to broadly acute.         -   Leaflet base.—Attenuate.         -   Leaflet margin.—Serrate; slightly and coarsely undulate.         -   Leaflet texture and luster, upper and lower             surfaces.—Smooth, glabrous; moderately coriaceous; slightly             glossy.         -   Leaflet venation pattern.—Pinnate.         -   Leaflet color.—Developing leaflets, upper surface: Close to             138A; towards the base, close to 183A. Developing leaflets,             lower surface: Close to 144A. Fully developed leaflets,             upper surface: Darker than a blend of 147A and N189A;             towards the base, tinged with close to N186C; venation,             close to 144A to 144B. Fully developed leaflets, lower             surface: Close to 147B; venation, close to 146D.         -   Petioles.—Length: About 14.1 cm. Diameter: About 7 mm by             8 mm. Strength: Strong. Texture and luster, upper and lower             surfaces: Smooth, glabrous; moderately glossy. Color, upper             and lower surfaces: Close to 146C moderately covered with             fine dots, close to N186C. -   Flower description:     -   -   Flower shape and habit.—Single rotate bowl-shaped flowers             arranged in panicles; freely flowering habit with numerous             flowers developing per plant during the flowering season;             flowers face mostly outwardly to nodding.         -   Fragrance.—None detected.         -   Natural flowering season.—Plants begin flowering about ten             months after planting; plants flower naturally from late             fall into the winter in Germany.         -   Flower longevity on the plant.—About ten days; sepals             persistent, other flower parts are not persistent.         -   Flower buds.—Length: About 3.2 cm. Diameter: About 2.2 cm.             Shape: Elliptic to obovate. Texture and luster: Smooth,             glabrous; matte. Color: Close to 70A; towards the apex,             strongly tinged with close to 59A; venation, close to N79C.         -   Inflorescence height (including peduncle).—About 35.8 cm.         -   Inflorescence diameter.—About 18.1 cm.         -   Flower diameter.—About 8.3 cm by 8.3 cm.         -   Flower depth.—About 3.2 cm.         -   Petals.—All petals are transformed into nectaries.         -   Sepals.—Quantity and arrangement: About five, arranged in a             single whorl. Length: About 5.6 cm. Width: About 4.6 cm.             Shape: Broadly ovate, slightly concave. Apex: Bluntly acute.             Base: Truncate to rounded. Margin: Entire; slightly to             moderately undulate. Texture and luster, upper surface:             Smooth, glabrous; matte. Texture and luster, lower surface:             Smooth, glabrous; matte to slightly glossy. Color: When             opening, upper surface: Close to 71A; towards the base,             close to 144B. When opening, lower surface: Close to 59A;             towards the base, close to 59B. Fully opened, upper surface:             Close to a blend of 71A and 72A; towards the base, close to             75C and at the base, close to 145B to 145C; venation,             similar to lamina colors; color does not change with             subsequent development. Fully opened, lower surface: Close             to 59A to 59B; towards the base, close to 70C; venation,             close to 71A; color does not change with subsequent             development.         -   Flower bracts.—Quantity per flower: Typically one or two.             Length: About 5.5 cm. Width: About 5.2 cm. Shape: Broadly             ovate. Apex: Acute. Base: Truncate. Margin: Entire;             distally, sparsely and shallowly serrate; coarsely undulate.             Color, upper surface: Close to a blend of NN137A and 139A;             towards the margins, tinged with close to 183A. Color, lower             surface: Close to 138A; towards the margins, tinged close to             N186C.         -   Peduncles.—Length: About 37.1 cm. Diameter: About 8 mm to             9 mm. Aspect: About 25° from vertical. Strength: Strong.             Texture and luster: Smooth, glabrous; moderately glossy.             Color: Close to 144C and heavily covered with fine dots,             close to 183A.         -   Pedicels.—Length: About 4.7 cm. Diameter: About 4 mm.             Aspect: About 10° from peduncle axis. Strength: Moderately             strong. Texture and luster: Smooth, glabrous; moderately             glossy. Color: Close to 144C and heavily covered with fine             dots, close to 185A.         -   Reproductive organs.—Stamens: Quantity per flower:             About 100. Filament length: About 1.5 cm. Filament color:             Close to NN155D. Anther shape: Double and broadly reniform;             basifixed. Anther size: About 1.75 mm by 2.5 mm. Anther             color: Close to 150C. Pollen amount: Sparse to moderate.             Pollen color: Close to 4D. Pistils: Quantity per flower:             About seven. Pistil length: About 1 cm. Stigma diameter:             About 0.3 mm. Stigma shape: Club-shaped. Stigma color: Close             to 157D. Style length: About 9 mm. Style color: Close to             187A. Ovary color: Close to 150D. Nectaries (transformed             petals): Quantity per flower: About 13 to 18. Length: About             1.35 cm. Diameter: About 4.5 mm. Shape: Tubular, flattened;             apices, obtuse. Texture and luster, inner and outer             surfaces: Smooth, glabrous; slightly glossy. Color,             immature, inner surface: Close to 145A to 145B; towards the             apex, close to 145C; towards the base, close to 151A. Color,             immature, outer surface: Close to 145B; towards the base,             close to 146D and at the base, close to 178A. Color, mature,             inner surface: Close to 145A to 145B; at the apex, close to             145C; towards the base, close to 152C to 152D; venation,             similar to lamina colors; with subsequent development, color             becoming closer to 151A with close to 153D at the apex and             at the base, close to 153A to 153B. Color, mature, outer             surface: Close to a blend of 144A and 146D; towards the             base, close to 178A; venation, similar to lamina colors;             with subsequent development, color becoming closer to 146D             with close to 153C to 153D at the apex and at the base,             close to 165B.         -   Seeds and fruits.—To date, seed and fruit development have             not been observed on plants of the new Helleborus. -   Garden performance: Plants of the new Helleborus have been observed     to have good garden performance and to tolerate rain, wind, high     temperatures about 35° C. and to be suitable for USDA Hardiness     Zones 5 through 9. -   Pathogen & pest resistance: To date, plants of the new Helleborus     have not been observed to be resistant to pathogens and pests common     to Helleborus plants. 

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct Helleborus plant named ‘HL 1010’ as illustrated and described. 